INTERNATIONAL. Moodie Davitt NEXUS brings you a weekly curated summary of (and links to) key stories from the related worlds of travel, retail, luxury, brands and beauty. All have been chosen for their relevance to (or repercussions for) travel retail.
NEXUS is available on dual platforms, first via a weekly e-Newsletter and later here at The Moodie Davitt Report.com, which enjoys almost five times the monthly web traffic of its nearest rival.
#01 – Jing Daily
Move over Millennials: Why brands should stop ignoring China’s silver generation
Tamsin Smith, from The Moodie Davitt Report’s business information partner Jing Daily, gives the sometimes Millennial-obsessed travel retail sector a jolt with some telling statistics. A new report shows how important Chinese seniors are (or should be) to the travel retail marketplace:
– Seniors in China account for one-third of the country’s entire spending.
– Some 40% of Chinese retirees are willing and able to go on luxury holidays, with over-60s setting aside an average of 15% of their annual income for travel.
– Over-60s use 80% of their cell data on Chinese social media platform WeChat, as opposed to just 6.8% of the 18 to 35-year-old generation.
Jing Daily says that the scale of the country’s senior-related industries (currently almost US$450 billion) will double by 2021. There are an estimated 241 million people aged 60 and over in China today — some 17.3% of the population, according to Chinese state media outlet Xinhua. By 2050, analysts predict that number will reach 487 million, or 34.9%. That’s one-quarter of the entire over-60s population worldwide. Many of them bound for a travel retail store.
Jing Daily’s Smith argues that most luxury brands are struggling to understand China’s evolving older generation and have too often ignored them. Furla Travel Retail Director Gerry Munday made a similar observation at The Trinity Forum in Bangkok last year, suggesting that brands and retailers alike need to realise that there is gold in silver. Generation that is.
Soundbites: Many marketing companies expressed surprise at being asked about the senior market at all, a sentiment that’s been noted by elderly consumers themselves. “They think we don’t exist,” said David Chan, a retired sales manager from Beijing.
Full story: https://jingdaily.com/china-silver-generation/
#02 – Jing Daily
These Over 70s Fashion Influencers Take Chinese Millennials by Storm
Let’s stick with both the admirable Jing Daily and with the silver generation theme. This time though we’re not talking consumers but influencers. Yes, you know, those young, social media-savvy key opinion leaders attached to WeChat and other platforms as if they were bodily organs, and for whom they are as fundamental to daily existence as food, drink and fresh air.
Except these are influencers with a difference. Read how fashion magazine Marie Claire China’s recent campaign demonstrated the power of more mature, silver generation opinion leaders. Given where the real buying power still lies in travel retail, it’s a timely focus. Perhaps there is a new career twist yet for The Moodie Davitt Chairman?
Soundbites: A Marie Claire China WeChat post published on August 10 introduces eight elder socialites with Chinese heritage, who are featured in the magazine’s upcoming September issue. In less than 72 hours since its release, the post has exceeded 600,000 views, according to Marie Claire China, and been liked by nearly 5,000 readers – an extraordinary new record for the title.
The eight personalities – whose average age is over 80 years old – were chosen due to lifetime achievements in their respective fields. Each of them, dressed in an array of luxury fashion labels including Bulgari (the campaign’s official partner), Christian Dior, Chanel and Celine, have made rare public appearances to discuss their personal stories.
Many readers agree that these influencers are role models to today’s youth, and that the stars’ ageless beauty, style, and independent spirit should inspire future generations. One Weibo user ‘Hongcai sister’ wrote, “Every influencer is so fabulous. Besides their achievements, all of them are so elegant and confident at their age. I hope I will be like them when I am older.”
Full story: https://jingdaily.com/over-70s-fashion-influencers/
#03 – London Evening Standard
Can Amazon finally become fashionable?
Amazon is the retail juggernaut of the 21st century, an extraordinary online enterprise that for millions of people has become the retailer of choice for everything from books to bicycles, garden ware to groceries. In fashion, though, the company’s progress has been muted, as this compelling recent article in London’s Evening Standard notes. But all that may be about to change.
“Founder Jeff Bezos’ retailing phenomenon has long struggled to crack fashion, battling for credibility in a category where being cool is as important as rapid delivery,” writes Laura Onita. But Amazon plays the long as well as short game and is investing heavily to become more fashion forward, underpinned by a burgeoning array of own-label brands, local language fashion websites, try-it-on tools such as a digital wardrobe; and even an ‘on demand’ platform that lets it manufacture clothes after an order has been placed, not before. “The vast troves of data Amazon holds on its customers — and possibly body measurements in the future — would allow it to do this at a mass scale,” notes Onita.
According to The Times, Amazon is on course to generate sales of US$200 billion this year. In comparison, the entire travel retail channel worldwide reached around US$69 billion last year, according to Generation Research. Amazon is expected to reach US$350 billion by the end of 2020 and US$500 billion by 2023.
Bezos once said that, in order to be a US$200 billion business, Amazon would have to learn how to sell clothes and food. Well it’s reached that mark without being particularly good at either. Last year the company snapped up premium grocer Whole Foods for US$13.7 billion. Food as the retail appetiser, fashion as the main course?
Selling fashion in airports has never been easy. But unless the sector, and its retailers, constantly reinvent how they approach the travelling consumer, differentiate the offer better and personalise and enhance the experience, it could be about to get a whole lot harder.
Soundbites: Andreas Inderst, an analyst at Macquarie: “The biggest threat is around mainstream, undifferentiated bricks-and-mortar retails. That’s what Amazon is targeting.”
For full story: https://www.standard.co.uk/business/focus-can-amazon-finally-become-fashionable-a3890116.html
#04 – PhocusWire
Reimagining customer experience, part 3: Airport innovations
PhocusWire, which provides daily news relating to the travel industry, has released the third part of its ‘Reimagining customer experience’ series. In this edition it examines some intriguing airport terminal innovations designed to increase passenger satisfaction at various touchpoints of the customer journey.
The highlight is a fascinating interview with Los Angeles World Airports Chief Experience Officer (nice job title that) Barbara Yamamoto, centring around a new tool, ‘Metis’, which is used to understand what passengers are saying – and feeling – about their airport experience. Metis, an artificial intelligence-backed data analytics system, analyses text to assess both what is being said and the emotion behind it. In the past year, the system has analysed input from some 16,000 LAX travellers shared in response to open-ended survey questions and public posts on Facebook, Yelp and Google.
Increasing convenience in food & beverage is featured, including a look at popular mobile app Grab, which uses location services to show users the restaurants in their terminal and allows them to pre-order. “In a digital environment, it breaks down the physical barriers of the terminal, brings awareness to all of the food locations and puts choice back in the customers’ hands,” says Grab Chief Experience Officer (another one) Jeff Livney.
Soundbites: “It’s giving us a really holistic, efficient way of listening to our guests,” Yamamoto says. “Survey data gives analytics, the number, but it doesn’t give us that emotional connection or the understanding behind the number. Metis blends the two to support decisions that can really make a difference for the guest experience.”
For full story: https://www.phocuswire.com/Customer-experience-part-3-airports
#05 – Marie Claire
4 Things to know before buying fragrances in duty free
Marie Claire’s four-point fragrance buying plan is designed to offer travellers some useful pre-trip tips. While a pretty lightweight piece, it’s notable at least for some rare positive consumer media comment about the duty free shopping experience.
And the tips? The first is predictable, urging travellers to do their pre-holiday homework on prices, so they understand High Street price tags before judging a duty free scent’s value. More interestingly, Marie Claire argues, consumers should “stick to what you know”. “There’s nothing worse than arriving home with your new purchase and hating it. You can’t go wrong with a tried-and-tested favourite.” Hmm… what happened to the spirit of adventure?
Next up, and the most interesting suggestion, is ‘Keep it fresh’. Strong, powerful scents are very popular, but they are the trickiest to shop for, Marie Claire contends. “You need to test them and really wear them for a full day to see how the scent develops and whether you like all the notes. Shopping for fresh scents and colognes are easier in this regard because they are heavier on the top notes, so you’ll have an idea of more-or-less how the fragrance will smell after a full day’s wear.”
And finally, “It’s all or nothing”, a call to try but not buy. “If you are not 100% sure on a fragrance, it’s best to walk away rather than forking out loads of money. Spray it on, see how you like it onboard and then decide if it’s something you would want to purchase at a later time.” Duty free as a showroom only. Now that’s a scentiment, sorry sentiment, certain to cause despair among any travel retailer’s beauty buyers. Doesn’t pay the concession fee does it?
Soundbites: Interestingly, If you failed to do your homework before departure (you’re forgiven) then the smartest thing to do if you want to buy perfume at duty free shops is to replace perfumes you have owned and loved. You probably won’t have much time in the airport to see how a new scent wears throughout the day.”
For full story: https://www.marieclaire.co.za/beauty/duty-free-fragrances-cheaper
#06 – IMF Blog
5 Things you need to know about the IMF and the Sustainable Development Goals
Readers will know how seriously The Moodie Davitt Report takes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We have partnered with global travel retailer Dufry in championing its promotion of the United Nation’s #YouNeedToKnow sustainable development awareness campaign at over 80 airports in five continents.
The SDGs were endorsed by 193 countries in 2015 as a blueprint for policy through 2030. This timely IMF Blog reveals five things the IMF is doing to help countries reach these goals, in the context of the five SDG pillars of people, prosperity, planet, peace, and partnership.
Soundbites: By articulating clear objectives for making development more sustainable and inclusive, the Sustainable Development Goals represent the basic requirements of human decency and flourishing, for this and future generations. Helping countries navigate this policy roadmap is a top priority —including for the IMF.
For full story: https://blogs.imf.org/2018/07/26/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-imf-and-the-sustainable-development-goals/
#07 – Diageo.com
Diageo pairs premix range with edible straws
Continuing with the sustainability theme, can travel retail do more? Absolutely. Take a walk through the beauty, confectionery and consumer technology departments of most travel retailers. The amount of plastic packaging (often unnecessary, unwieldy and difficult to open) is alarming. Think of all that plastic piling up in landfills. It’s a rotten (though not always rotting) thought.
In that regard, it’s good to see drinks and travel retail sector leader Diageo unveiling a brilliant initiative through which it has paired its premix range with environmentally friendly, flavoured and, yes, edible straws. It’s all part of the drinks giant’s commitment to phasing out the use of all plastic straws and stirrers around the world.
Few business sectors are either as visible or as international as travel retail, let alone so linked to the environment. It’s time to step up the pace of change and it shouldn’t need any kind of consumer straw poll to tell us how urgent the need is.
Soundbites: Our commitment to phasing out the use of all plastic straws and stirrers, and the edible straws partnership, build on almost a decade long commitment to making our packaging more sustainable – principally through increasing recycled content, reducing packaging weight and increasing recyclability.
For full story: https://www.diageo.com/en/news-and-media/features/diageo-pairs-premix-range-with-edible-straws/
